Broun Offers $108 Million in Spending Cuts to CJS Appropriations Bill

Press Release

U.S. Representative Paul Broun, M.D. (GA-10) today released the following statement after offering more than $108 million in targeted spending cuts to the fiscal year 2015 Commerce-Justice-Science appropriations bill.

"In our current economic state, we must scrutinize every spending bill that comes to the House floor and look for areas to cut spending and rein in our unsustainable debt," said Congressman Paul Broun. "I am pleased to have received bipartisan support for some of these amendments, and I look forward to continuing to work towards ensuring a sound financial future for our children and grandchildren. With more than $17 trillion in national debt, we simply cannot afford to delay action any longer."

Rep. Broun's amendments included:

· A $5 million cut to end a loan guarantee program authorized under the America COMPETES Act of 2010, which has received continuous funding despite not having funded a single loan, which passed by a voice vote;

· A $596,000 reduction for the Department of Commerce Office of the Inspector General, which failed by a voice vote;

· A $1 million reduction for the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), which failed by a voice vote;

· A reduction of nearly $67 million to an increase provided for the National Science Foundation, which failed by a voice vote;

· A bipartisan amendment co-sponsored by Rep. Broun and led by Rep. Jared Polis (D-CO), which would eliminate a $35 million increase over the amount provided to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) last year, which failed by a 66-339 vote; and

· A bipartisan amendment cosponsored by Rep. Broun and led by Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA) to promote states' rights by protecting law-abiding medical marijuana patients, which passed by a 219-189 vote.

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